Yes
22% (105)

No
78% (367)

472 total votes.

So it should come as no surprise that Walkscore.com ranked San Diego and its suburbs as "Somewhat Walkable" at best.

"The thing about San Diego that is perplexing is that our weather is highly compatible with a walking city," said Jim Stone, executive director of Walk San Diego, a group that promotes walkability and bikeability. "You'd think with the idyllic weather we have in San Diego, we'd have an ideal walking environment. But unfortunately, we don't. We're striving to make it better."

Walkscore ranked 2,761 cities nationally with at least 10,000 residents and found that the average score was 43 on a scale of 1-100. Of the 16 cities ranked in San Diego, 13 were above average and only three were below -- Carlsbad, Poway and Santee. Del Mar and Solana Beach were too small to be included.

Only three cities were walking paradises -- Union City, Hoboken and West New York, all densely populated New Jersey suburbs across the Hudson River from New York City.

The Big Apple itself received 85.3 points, ranking it as the most walkable city among those with 1 million residents or more.

San Diego ranked seventh among big cities, but with only received 55.7 points, it came in sixth countywide, 315th statewide and 453rd nationally among all cities.

La Mesa had the highest ranking locally with 65.6 points, and Santee had the lowest, 40.9 points.

Walkscore bases its findings on the distance between your current location and an amenity, such as a store or park. Distances of less than a quarter-mile get the most points and those farther than a mile away get no points.

Stone said it is unclear whether Walkscore takes into account geographic impediments, such as canyons, bodies of water and other obstructions.

But regardless of methodology, he said, San Diego can still make itself more walkable as the population grows and more homes and workplaces get built.

"We need to stop being so concerned about the level of service for cars and more about the level of service for people," he said.

As communities become dense, public transit will become more feasible and the distance from home to work will shrink, he explained.

On Friday, Stone said he'll walk the 10 or 11 miles from his home in La Mesa to his office in downtown's East Village -- even if takes him three hours to make the trek.

"The reality is walking to work for me is not practical," he said. "But I'm doing it as a statement, a symbolic thing that it is possible. I just want to bring attention to it."

Besides, Stone said, walking at three miles per hour will give him a chance to spy sights he hasn't noticed in the past, and he plans to post some on Facebook and Twitter.

"You see things when you walk that you don't see (from a car)," he said. "Sometimes they're amusing or interesting and you scratch your head. I may take a picture if I find something enthralling for some reason."

Walkability scores

Rank

Somewhat walkable 50-69

1

La Mesa

65.6

154

42

2

National City

64

182

64

3

El Cajon

61.2

265

82

4

Coronado

58.8

340

96

5

Imperial Beach

58.3

359

105

6

San Diego

55.7

453

315

7

Vista

54.3

529

151

8

Chula Vista

51.4

686

172

9

Escondido

51.1

709

174

Car-dependent 0-49

10

Encinitas

48.4

918

206

11

Lemon Grove

48.4

923

209

12

Oceanside

45.4

1,179

240

13

San Marcos

44.6

1,233

243

14

Carlsbad

41.7

1,480

266

15

Poway

41.5

1,499

275

16

Santee

40.9

1,546

289

Total cities

43

2,761

374

The scores were calculated for cities of 10,000 or more nationally, so Del Mar and Solana Beach were not ranked. No local cities ranked as "Walker's Paradise" with 100 to 90 points or "Very Walkable" with 89 to 70 points.

Big cities' walkability

City

State

Score

Population

1

New York

NY

85.3

8,175,133

2

Chicago

IL

74.3

2,695,598

3

Philadelphia

PA

74.1

1,526,006

4

Toronto

CA-ON

71.4

2,615,060

5

Montréal

CA-QC

70.4

1,649,519

6

Los Angeles

CA

65.9

3,792,621

7

San Diego

CA

55.7

1,307,402

8

Houston

TX

49.8

2,099,451

9

Calgary

CA-AB

47.9

1,096,833

10

Dallas

TX

46.9

1,197,816

11

Phoenix

AZ

45.4

1,445,632

12

San Antonio

TX

40.8

1,327,407

For cities with 1 million residents or more, here's how San Diego ranked. Canadian cities also were included.

San Diego vs. Los Angeles in walkability

One curious thing about the Walkscore findings is that Los Angeles did better in walkability than San Diego. LA had a score of 65.9, 10.2 points higher than San Diego's.

Walk San Diego's Jim Stone looked closely at the data and discovered the reason.

"The average score for the largest cities in California is 50," Stone said. "Our most walkable neighborhoods actually score better than those in LA, but the number of less walkable places brings down our score. Again, my guess on it is the suburban sprawl that is actually part of the city of San Diego."

See Stone's spreadsheet comparing SD and LA neighborhoods. They call out some some pretty unwalkable communities. How does your neighborhood stack up against the others?

LA, SD compared in walkability

SAN DIEGO

LOS ANGELES

Rank

Name

Walk Score

Population

Rank

Name

Walk Score

Population

1

Horton Plaza

97

1,294

1

Downtown

92

36,194

2

Core-Columbia

96

6,622

2

Koreatown

90

91,542

3

Gaslamp Quarter

95

1,100

3

Mid City West

89

47,150

4

Little Italy

92

2,986

4

Pico-Union

88

28,577

5

Cortez Hill

92

3,452

5

Chinatown

87

7,654

6

Marina

92

5,798

6

Hollywood

87

144,481

7

Harborview

91

565

7

Sawtelle

86

30,422

8

East Village

88

10,101

8

Mid Wilshire

85

39,877

9

Hillcrest

84

13,954

9

Harvard Heights

84

27,263

10

Park West

83

8,075

10

West Adams

80

42,182

11

Ocean Beach

79

12,037

11

Westlake

80

91,142

12

University Heights

79

11,544

12

Los Feliz

79

27,613

13

Normal Heights

79

10,480

13

Palms

78

43,075

14

Teralta East

78

6,473

14

Arlington Heights

78

14,998

15

Teralta West

78

4,864

15

Silver Lake

78

37,156

16

North Park

77

37,977

16

Venice

77

36,095

17

Corridor

77

8,036

17

South Carthay

77

3,305

18

Roseville / Fleet Ridge

77

5,581

18

West Los Angeles

76

12,689

19

Old Town

77

864

19

Echo Park

75

24,792

20

Torrey Pines

76

8,864

20

Pico/Robertson

75

21,910

21

Rolando

76

6,469

21

Mid City

75

98,872

22

College East

74

9,780

22

Studio City

75

38,306

23

Adams North

74

5,202

23

Atwater Village

75

13,804

24

Colina del Sol

73

11,017

24

Century City

75

5,544

25

Sherman Heights

73

3,305

25

Eagle Rock

75

27,613

26

Pacific Beach

72

30,027

26

North Hollywood

74

101,022

27

Kensington

72

6,248

27

Del Rey

74

30,944

28

Loma Portal

71

4,666

28

Westwood

74

52,198

29

Cherokee Point

71

5,045

29

Valley Village

73

22,740

30

Fairmount Village

71

6,528

30

Leimert Park

73

10,630

31

Midtown

70

4,175

31

Toluca Lake

73

9,030

32

Balboa Park

70

1,238

32

Central City East

72

18,827

33

Mission Hills

70

5,685

33

Crestview

71

10,314

34

Midway District

70

10,601

34

Canoga Park

70

77,772

35

El Cerrito

69

5,203

35

Mar Vista

70

38,901

36

Kearny Mesa

69

2,645

36

Highland Park

69

47,895

37

Fox Canyon

68

2,588

37

Cheviot Hills

69

12,951

38

La Jolla Village

68

5,823

38

Boyle Heights

69

78,551

39

Grantville

65

8,214

39

Lincoln Heights

69

33,152

40

Grant Hill

65

4,722

40

San Pedro

66

73,762

41

Clairemont Mesa East

65

25,725

41

Playa Vista

66

4,933

42

North Clairemont

65

14,403

42

Sherman Oaks

65

196,673

43

Mission Valley East

64

11,338

43

Central City

65

52,977

44

University City

64

48,849

44

Harbor City

65

23,961

45

Golden Hill

64

9,163

45

Beverlywood

65

9,521

46

Castle

63

9,896

46

Valley Glen

64

30,252

47

Talmadge

63

9,214

47

Mount Washington

64

10,688

48

Logan Heights

62

14,642

48

Jefferson Park

64

29,965

49

Point Loma Heights

62

18,360

49

Westchester

64

35,419

50

Egger Highlands

61

9,001

50

Panorama City

63

62,444

51

Chollas View

61

4,940

51

Harbor Gateway

63

39,381

52

Mission Bay Park

61

9,064

52

Reseda

63

65,114

53

Chollas Creek

61

5,179

53

South Los Angeles

62

201,905

54

Burlingame

61

726

54

Playa Del Ray

62

15,671

55

College West

61

9,718

55

Cahuenga Pass

62

4,185

56

Southcrest

61

6,549

56

Cypress Park

62

15,079

57

South Park

60

5,659

57

Hermon

61

3,434

58

Carmel Mountain

60

11,448

58

Northridge

61

69,973

59

Bay Ho

58

12,134

59

Hollywood Hills

60

32,456

60

Redwood Village

58

8,213

60

Crenshaw

60

38,432

61

Bay Park

58

16,384

61

Sunland

59

21,964

62

Shelltown

58

4,322

62

Hyde Park

59

36,099

63

Barrio Logan

57

9,815

63

Wilmington

59

57,309

64

Morena

57

6,824

64

Elysian Park

58

903

65

Mountain View

57

15,141

65

Winnetka

58

48,698

66

Lincoln Park

56

8,759

66

Chatsworth

58

34,729

67

La Jolla

56

30,117

67

Glassell Park

57

29,942

68

Mission Valley West

54

2,742

68

North Hills

57

61,078

69

Linda Vista

54

23,389

69

University Hills

57

4,951

70

La Playa

54

2,462

70

Sun Valley

56

86,090

71

Del Mar Heights

54

6,260

71

Southeast Los Angeles

56

182,818

72

Clairemont Mesa West

54

9,934

72

Woodland Hills

55

44,348

73

Bird Land

54

5,441

73

Elysian Valley

55

6,401

74

Oak Park

54

14,421

74

Tujunga

55

21,840

75

Mission Beach

54

4,562

75

Encino

55

56,560

76

Stockton

53

3,708

76

Brentwood

55

34,326

77

Lake Murray

52

16,471

77

Tarzana

54

29,671

78

Mira Mesa

52

68,798

78

Watts

52

38,622

79

Palm City

52

5,163

79

Mission Hills

51

20,547

80

Otay Mesa West

51

30,656

80

Granada Hills

51

51,032

81

Allied Gardens

49

10,474

81

El Sereno

50

43,854

82

Carmel Valley

48

44,542

82

Pacoima

50

75,943

83

Sunset Cliffs

48

2,975

83

Sylmar

49

78,374

84

Serra Mesa

47

20,655

84

West Hills

47

34,691

85

Ridgeview/Webster

47

5,457

85

Montecito Heights

46

7,491

86

Emerald Hills

47

4,125

86

Pacific Palisades

46

23,450

87

Del Cerro

47

7,138

87

Arleta

42

39,211

88

Tierrasanta

46

27,867

88

Porter Ranch

34

20,822

89

Mt. Hope

45

5,540

89

Lakeview Terrace

31

12,132

90

Miramar

45

5,330

90

La Tuna Canyon

27

2,772

91

San Carlos

45

12,780

91

Bel Air

26

8,287

92

Paradise Hills

45

16,749

92

Beverly Glen

19

13,714

93

San Ysidro

44

27,799

93

Shadow Hills

17

4,641

94

Jomacha/Lomita

43

10,231

94

Terminal Island

11

827

95

Nestor

43

15,804

96

Wooded Area

43

3,978

97

Valencia Park

41

10,971

98

Swan Canyon

40

4,503

99

Rancho Bernardo

40

37,328

100

Skyline

40

8,369

101

Fairmount Park

39

2,972

102

Rancho Penasquitos

38

50,048

103

Encanto

38

16,254

104

Azalea/Hollywood Park

37

3,686

105

Bay Terraces

36

31,012

106

Alta Vista

36

2,521

107

Scripps Ranch

35

17,931

108

Ocean Crest

33

12,516

109

Torrey Highlands

33

3,746

110

Sabre Springs

32

11,034

111

Miramar Ranch North

32

13,519

112

Sorrento Valley

26

3,041

113

Otay Mesa

21

2,089

114

Tijuana River Valley

19

698

115

North City

17

4,363

116

Black Mountain Ranch

14

6,754

117

North Island Naval Air Station

7

4,339

118

Rancho Encantado

6

2,583

Walk San Diego looked at walkscore.com's findings on neighborhoods in San Diego and Los Angeles. 100 is perfect and 1 is horrible in terms of walkability.